Splendors of Godly Love

The ethics of the Bible can be summarized in one word: love. Love became flesh in the person of Jesus--in the narrative of his life, his teachings, his death, and his resurrection. Jesus was the ""Word of God"" (John 1:1). Splendors of Godly Love brings a fresh perspective on age-old Christian concepts to guide us through life. Chris van der Merwe is a literary scholar who carefully analyzes biblical texts and explores the richness of their content. He reflects on seven Christian values and explains how faith, hope, righteousness, truth, humility, and joy are all connected to the central Christian virtue of love. While talking about some of the tough choices that present-day Christians have to make, and the emptiness that so many of us experience, he delves deep into the truths of the biblical texts and shares with his readers some of the wonderful wisdom of poets and writers from all over the world. He argues that the emptiness of our existence can be filled with meaning only if we seek to reflect the splendor of God's love in our daily lives. ""We are living in a world where trust in relations on all levels of our society is seriously and constantly under pressure.The author of this book journeys with us in a very creative and dignified way to remind us of the most basic Christian values in life in order for us to transform the world we live in today. This book does indeed activate us to restore trust in relations by rediscovering the splendors of Godly love."" --Christo Thesnaar, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counselling, Faculty of Theology, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa ""Chris van der Merwe has written another beautiful book . . . [wherein he] speaks honestly to a variety of readers: people of faith, agnostics, people who have lost hope, and secularized types who still wonder about life's mysteries. [He] delves playfully into the treasures of his Bible, takes his readers on an eye-opening theological journey, and spices his argument with interesting anecdotes and quotations. . . . This book on the gift of godly love is also a wonderful human gift."" --Christo Lombard, Director of the Desmond Tutu Centre for Spirituality and Society, University of the Western Cape Chris N. van der Merwe is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Cape Town, where he taught Theory of Literature and Afrikaans and Dutch Literature for almost forty years. Living in a deeply divided and troubled country, much of his research focused on literary narratives and trauma, and on literature and spirituality. Apart from numerous academic works, van der Merwe has also had three books of a religious nature published in South Africa.